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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · foot · kid · squash · stand · roll · wound · bat

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. branch — a division
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. squash — to crush
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. roll — a list
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wound — an injury
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. foot — a measure

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com